Mutual funds

With the beginning of a new fiscal quarter this month, many hoped for an end to the credit crisis that has plagued the market thus far this year. Yet these hopes have been disbanded as threats of further losses throughout financial institutions, concerns of inflation, and record high oil prices continue to persist.

A source for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recently stated that the CSRC only suggested that senior mutual fund officials remain in China until the Olympics in early August to keep a stable market, they are in no which way barring them from leaving the country.

Vanguard has transferred 34 of its 38 exchange-traded funds to the NYSE Arca from the American Stock Exchange. This is a result of the merger between Amex and NYSE EuroNet, the holding company for NYSE Arca. The other four ETFs, Vanguard® Mega Cap 300 ETF, Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Growth ETF, Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Value ETF and Vanguard Total World Stock ETF, are already traded on the NYSE Arca.

Most individuals are not saving enough for retirement because they are not compensating for rising medical costs, lengthening life spans, and the declining availability of pension and retiree medical benefits, according to a study by Hewitt Associates.

Sir John Templeton, founder of the Templeton Funds and who first came to Wall Street in 1937, passed away yesterday at the age of 95 from pneumonia in Nassau, Bahamas.

Daniel Petrozzo has been named new chief information officer at Fidelity Investments, and Ronald E. DePoalo is now CIO of the firm’s institutional products division.

Three high-profile staff members at the Investment Company Institute have already left or are planning on leaving the mutual fund lobbying group in the near future, Defined Contributions & Savings Plan Alert reports.

Thanks to Fidelity Investments, students from Mattahunt Elementary School of Mattapan, Mass., that are part of the BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) program will learn how to trade and analyze stocks and bonds this summer.

Baby Boomers now comprise half to three-quarters of the clients of fee-based advisers and independent reps, a new wealth report found. Understanding the changing composition of the American consumer can go a long way toward establishing a healthy business model. However, if that model is focused solely on affluent households, the pickings are growing slimmer.

Morningstar's Investor Conference in Chicago may have echoed with many of the same old solutions of the past, but for those who listened carefully to Mohamed El-Erian's message, "This time it's different."

In November of last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule to decrease the prospectuses of mutual fund firms to summaries of around three pages that could be accessed online, Mortgage Banking reports. According to a report produced by research firm Aite Group, if this rule takes effect, the financial services industry stands to save more than $65 million per year in printing and postage in addition to rescuing 42,000 trees annually.

In light of Legg Mason's recent struggles and dropping stock price, the company has slashed the pay of CEO Mark Fetting and its founder Raymond "Chip" Mason.

Hennion and Walch, a small New Jersey fund firm, is introducing ETFs into 401k plans by wrapping them in mutual funds. Chief Investment Officer Kevin Mahn said the SmartGrowth ETF Lipper Optimal Conservative Index, SmartGrowth ETF Lipper Optimal Moderate Index and SmartGrowth ETF Lipper Optimal Growth Index funds have made their way into 401(k) plans administered by leading companies, including Fidelity Investments.

Cash-strapped banks are hoping the Federal Reserve will loosen restrictions keeping private-equity firms from giving them capital.

Adviser confidence in the economy and stock market declined in June, according to Rydex AdvisorBenchmarking. The Rydex Advisor Confidence Index fell 3.07%, to 96.93, from a month earlier, due to heightened concerns about rising energy costs, higher inflation and the subprime mortgage crisis.

Merk Investments Recruits Former St. Louis Fed Prez

Back in 2005, the chances that Amvescap, now Invesco, would make a 360-degree turnaround seemed virtually impossible, but with a little bit of time and the addition of Martin Flanagan as chief executive officer, the unlikely actually occurred.

Mutual fund companies and other financial services firms continue to battle one another for wealth management talent even though companies are forced to pay hefty salaries that crimp profits.

At first glance, Forward Management LLC of San Francisco looks like a typical investment management boutique, presiding over a current family of 16 niche mutual funds.

The head of JPMorgan Funds has handed responsibility for the company’s growing registered investment adviser business to a lieutenant.